Thanks Diane, I am interested as I am vegan also. I haven't tried FA paper yet but I will as soon as I can get some of their paper.

Same, I'll go with those other two. I believe Canson and Strathmore are also vegan, if you need a cheaper option.

@ Marie S You may very well know this now, as your post is two years old, but Hahnemühle now has Agave Watercolor Paper, which "is a cold press, natural white watercolor paper made from 70% renewable agave fiber and 30% cotton rag." In addition, they also have released their Hahnemühle Bamboo Mixed Media Blocks, "a unique surface suitable for watercolors, acrylics, and pastels, as well as for sketching and drawing with charcoal. It is made from 90% bamboo fiber, with 10% rag." Infor regarding these papers came from Blick Art Supplies. As you already know, painting with renewable sources is more important than ever in our rapidly changing eco environments. I have used both, but as a mixed media watercolour artist, I do enjoy the Bamboo mixed media paper a bit more, but both are amazing! Happy painting!

​@@TrueLoveX1027 working with bamboo paper is.... difficult. I had some bamboo pads and they way they soaked up ink and bleed through the paper made me not want to try any more. It wasn't a mix though, and was cheap bamboo paper, but made me wary. It's like the recycled cotton Indian rag paper - nice in theory, in practice Khadi paper is a nightmare to use. Weirdly sized, and a sh*tshoot what you're gonna get page to page. I agree about sustainability - why the Fabriano mills are hydroelectrically powered, and how cotton is sourced is a tricky one...but I do find the best thing is to use responsibly sourced paper from reliable companies and use it well and don't waste it. It is better to do one great painting on one paper that waste many sheets cos it doesn't work, after all.

Thanks, makes it clear!

Oh, thanks, didn’t know about F. A soft press! Looked it up and think I’ll try it out next time I have to stock up. I use Fabriano , both hot press and cold press as it’s a cheaper option for me here in Italy.

Hi Charlotte. Where can you buy the Fabriano Artistico? Any big stores like Michael's? Thanks, Ann😊

@@PrairieeGirl I thought I'd answer, because I just purchased some of the soft press. I found the best price was for large sheets at Jerrysartarama.com (double check the spelling, I'm not sure if it was jerrysartArama or jerrysartOrama). They had a special of buy 8 sheets, get 2 free. I cut down the large sheets and it is definitely worth it.

LegendOFame 2.0 I have been using Artisco and got it off amazon. I tried a 5x7 block $14 to try it out

Thanks Shelia! :) I can't wait to make more!

Aw thanks :D And yes! I'm be gearing future series more toward beginners. :D So stay tuned! :D

@@WaterColorMisfit Great news. I'm so looking up for your new series. 😁

And the recycled bamboo one! I don't see that one talked about enough.

Thanks Steve :)

I just discovered that paper! I love it!!

Canson Heritage is terrific, too

I use Heritage and Moulin du Roy. Like both very much. I also have Montval that has nothing to do with them

Canson Moulin Du Roy seems comparable to Langton Prestige but slightly cheaper. 25 square centimeters more per sheet and save about 3 dollars. Langton is also machine made, 300 gram and 100% cotton. Available both cold- and warm pressed. I've been using it for quite some time and want to try something else. Will get my hands on Canson.

Jerry Hall Langton is amazing, I only got to try it once, it was sadly out of stock ever since in my country. Moulin du roy is more “spongy” which is amazing. But I miss Langton Prestige (especially rough) very much.

You are welcome 😊

I tested their Beta Series (270 gsm cold pressed) and Zeta Series (270 gsm hot pressed). Smooth gradients tend to end up blotchy on hot pressed paper and that is definetly the case with Zeta. But details work great, no feathering with brush pens. Just like your average hot pressed paper I'd say. The Beta Series makes better gradients, but again, nothing special for a cold pressed paper. BUT it has problems with glazing, as soon as the 2nd layer, it creates a weird texture, the more layers, the uglier. Honestly, one of the worst cold pressed papers I ever tried :/ I bought a total of 4 sketchbooks from them bc they were the only ones with thicker watercolor paper at the time. I can't recommend them, their paper is just average to under average for the Beta. It's 0% cotton and all cellulose, overpriced in my opinion. I now bind my sketchbook myself, it's actually really easy and there are many YT tutorials.

thanks Tracy!

You are so welcome 😊 💛

Thanks 😊

sypherianlp Hey! I actually really love arches and prefer it over Fabriano which has been my go-to paper cause it is, of course, really nice and also costs a little bit less than arches. So if you hate arches and you've been using some alternative can you let us know what it is? I'm trying to find an alternative to Fabriano cause I've been having some issues with it and it'll be nice to find an alternative that is not arches.

What do you dislike about it? I've never tried it, but I've been curious to. I typically hear good things and would like to hear what you hate about it

Choice of paper is really subjective, Arches isn’t a favourite for everyone. 🙂 I love Fabriano hot press but find their cold pressed to be awful, dulling colours regardless of brand of watercolour. Arches is ok but not my favourite as it too, tends to very slightly dull colours, not as much as Fabriano but there’s a definite slight cloud. I find Saunders Waterford better. My two favourites are Mulin Du Roy (excellent different texture, not seen in other brands) and doesn’t dull colours, and Claire Fontaine (100 percent cotton version.)

@@Kyomiibrown Oh wow you did tried a lot. That's awesome! At least you do know what works for you. I admit I haven't tried a whole lot. I'm just lucky that my sister had some left over Arches paper for me to work with and I'm inlove right away although it's so expensive. I'm going to try out different kinds of paper like bamboo watercolor paper which are available locally in my country.

Meuni Chap Search online to see if you can get a watercolour paper test/variety pack that contains sheets from different brands - it’s the cheapest way of testing :)

Meuni Chap if you love texture do give Indigo a try .... it’s a rag paper that tolerates lots of water and is very tough

I agree

Langton Prestige Rough is one of my favorites!

I started on Langston normal paper as a kid/art student, so I have a lot of respect for Daler and their Aquafine is a bargain and acts amazingly well for pulp paper. That's usually one of my beginner recs. Not tried the prestige, it's a bit pricey even in the UK. Would like to....weird how an Italian paper is cheaper though per sheet (Fabriano)

thanks Jennilyn :)

So nice of you

You are welcome 😊

Good to know :)

@@WaterColorMisfit You will also find that Cheap Joe's paper is always the same price as using a 50% off coupon at Michael's or Hobby Lobby! I am lucky enough to live only 20 miles from Cheap Joe's.

I was thinking that too lol

BUT... lol

Exactly lol

Oh and I think the price of arches is ridiculous! If I felt it was worth it I would get more of it but the Fabriano I prefer because of the tooth which is definitely smoother even though it’s cold pressed. I think arches and winsor and newton (cotton/professional range) are way more toward very wet watercolour 😀

@@Star-eyes7 I have never tried Arches - am in the UK too - cos of the exorbitant price. Always went 100% Fabriano, Artistico is my 'go to' paper cos it's so lovely. Would also love to try Bee Paper but it's not available here, at all. Saunders I'd love to try as well, but again, price per sheet vs Fabriano is always more, weird for a local paper vs an imported one, even after Brexit?

Try Legion Stonehenge Hotpress, it is the best alternative (quality wise I could think off to the Fabriano Artistico. I know it's a 2 year late response, but it might still help!

Canson montval is pretty good middle grade, or strathmore 400